Green

It seems "green" has come to refer not only to the environment in general, but to things that are 'good' for the environment, or at least 'better' than other things. At my former job, we had a 'greening' initiative of sorts, that involved moderating temperatures to save on the energy required for heat or a/c, being issued mugs made out of corn (not sure how that one worked) to be used instead of disposable cups in the office, unplugging power cords when not in use, and other measures.

I was thinking about my "green" footprint today as I stood battle, yet again, against an army of ants determined to take over my kitchen. They launched their best assault yet this afternoon. Jesse and I had taken our lunches (which consisted of leftover meatloaf, 4 baking powder biscuits-turned-grilled ham & cheese sandwiches, and tomato soup) into the other room to continue watching Battlestar Galactica (on which I am now hooked), and I kept watching after he'd left to go back to the church. On my return to the kitchen, the little ants had turned out en masse. After removing all the items from the counter yet again, the orange spray-bottle cleaner and I struck back. Jesse is bringing home some sticky-tack, as a temporary plug for the hole the ants are coming in.

After cleaning up the counter and dishes, I saw another failed attempt at being "green." Sometime last week, during a grocery trip, I noticed some basil plants in small planter boxes that were on sale. (Incidentally, some of that fresh basil had been used in the tomato soup that I thawed out for lunch. But I digress.) I purchased one, and dutifully set it at the front of the sink, where it could receive sunlight, and I would be more likely to remember to water it. However, on hanging out the initial loads of laundry (on which I've previously waxed eloquent), I noticed that the leaves were shriveling up and realized I was baking the little basil plant, since the sun shines on the back of the house all afternoon. I then moved it to the other side of the kitchen (actually, the dining room), where it gets more moderate sunlight and, you guessed it - forgotten in the water department. So I gave the poor struggling thing some water.

On the plus side, there is a cute little lizard living under our house who's probably 4 inches long (not counting his/her tail) and scampers under the house whenever I come outside. Supposedly, our twin-tub washer is environmentally friendly. So is our laundry detergent and dish soap. That's got to count for something. On the minus side, there was a 2-inch or so cockroach in the kitchen last night. The young adults from church were still over, playing on the wii, and I just called, "Jesse, I need you. Big big bug."

Also on the plus side, there is a beautiful flower garden in front of the house which was put in and maintained by the former tenants. As we were walking in one of the first days we lived here, I said to Jesse, "Too bad about that flower garden." "What? Why?" "We're probably going to kill it." "Oh. Yeah."